The Golden State Warriors are trying to lure both LeBron James and Anthony Davis to town to play alongside Stephen Curry. And Draymond Green is trying to help make it happen. He declined his player option to give the Warriors more breathing room to make things happen, but that could be great for Luka Doncic.
If the Warriors steal James away from LA, it would be better for Doncic and Austin Reaves’ future. Because rather than paying James for a couple more years, they would be able to use the money he left behind in free agency and on the trade market. That’s a much better long-term plan.
So, by declining his player option and trying to lure James to Golden State, Green actually gave Doncic a perfect gift: A chance at a better future in LA.
LeBron James leaving would be good for Luka Doncic's Lakers future
Let’s say James decides to return to the Lakers. Well, he’s going to command a hefty price tag if he does. That would give the Lakers far less flexibility to make moves in free agency.
LA would keep its current core of Doncic, James, and Reaves together, but if we’re considering the long-term outlook, it might be better to put that trio to rest right now.
Doncic is 27 years old. Reaves is 28. Their prime is now. They aren’t 23 and 24, just scratching the surface of what they could become. They are what they have become.
Wasting two more years of their primes by playing them alongside a James-included trio and subpar depth would be a bad idea. It would be more valuable for the Lakers to let James walk and use his money to improve the team’s depth (and add a better starting center).
But if James wants to return to the Lakers, he inevitably will. And the Lakers will pay him the big bucks to do so. That just seems like the most likely outcome.
However, the Warriors are pushing. Green declined his player option to help make things happen. They want James. And Green may be saving the Lakers from themselves.
In turn, he’s gifting Doncic the chance at a better future. A future with more depth alongside him and Reaves. A future where the Lakers could target a starting center in free agency.
A future that would see James move on from LA, giving the Lakers a much better chance to improve the long-term look of their team around Doncic.
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